Russia chokes Ukraine’s Black Sea export corridor
Russian attacks on civilian cargo ships have prevented any vessels from entering Ukrainian ports in Odesa region for the first time since the corridor was established in 2023.
Russia has intensified attacks on civilian cargo ships in the Black Sea, threatening to strangle Ukraine's vital export corridor. On Wednesday, July 23, no vessels entered any Ukrainian ports in the Odesa region for the first time since the maritime corridor was established in 2023.
“Russia is holding global food security hostage. Today zero vessels passed through Ukraine’s Black Sea maritime corridor — right at peak harvest. This is deliberate economic and humanitarian terror,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in a statement on Wednesday evening. He warned that millions of families in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America could face rising prices and hunger if the attacks continue.
The attacks forced shipping giant Maersk to halt operations at the Chornomorsk Fishing Port in the Odesa region this week, redirecting cargo to Romania’s Constanta Port. Although Ukraine vowed to still provide security, vessel owners decided to stop traffic due to heightened security threats.
“Previously, there had also been many hits on ships, but most of them concerned ships already docked in ports,” said Andrii Klymenko, head of the Black Sea and Baltic Strategic Research Monitoring Group. He added that ship owners are waiting to see how the situation unfolds and what new solutions Ukraine can offer.
Ukraine has requested an urgent U.N. Security Council meeting for July 27, urging all states to immediately demand that Moscow stop its attacks on freedom of navigation in the Black Sea. The attacks intensified after Ukraine conducted a series of successful strikes against Russian shadow fleet oil tankers in the Azov and Black Seas, forcing Russia to halt exports earlier this month. However, Klymenko noted that it would be wrong to say this is a response, because Russia never paused attacks on Ukraine’s ports and cargo.
Ukrainian Navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk said there is a big difference: while Russia shells legally operating vessels, Ukraine targets cargo ships that break maritime law by illegally transporting sanctioned oil or entering ports in occupied territories.
“The war at sea never stopped. We have already been in a similar situation. Yes, pressure increased, and yes, shipping companies see risks and reduce operations. But we will keep working to restore maximum capacity of our maritime corridor,” Pletenchuk added.
Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian ports in 2022 choked vital agricultural exports and helped drive global food prices more than 60 percent higher by March. After Ukraine’s navy established a protected maritime corridor, the country exported over 168.9 million tons of cargo through it, including more than 100 million tons of grain, much of it bound for countries in the Global South, despite repeated Russian attacks on Odesa’s ports.
